"Very neatly done," his boss congratulated him. "Thanks-and thanks for the warning." Meanwhile, Peter sat in awed silence.

They dropped the boy off at the school; the boss went in with them and the pair of them talked briefly with the principal. Peter went off to class.

When they left the school, Cooper was told to take the rest of the day off. "Frankly, you look a wreck just at the moment. Besides, you'll need the time to do the rest, right?" "Well—yes, but haven't we done enough?"

"Look, Cooper, I'm not doing this for my health, you know. And I'm not saying there's not other ways—but I know this way works. But I can see you won't do it unless I prod you a little. Let's go to your house. I want to call the office and tell my secretary where I am, and we can talk to your wife at the same time.

Mrs. Cooper was informed of all that had transpired and she was equally increduous. However, when the entire plan was laid open to her, her reaction was different from her husband's. She laughed de- lightedly. "How wonderful! Well, Henry-I have some shopping to do, it seems. How much can we spend?" The boss snorted and said "I knew somehow I'd end up paying for all this. Here's your Christmas bonus" and he handed several heroic-looking bills to Mrs. Cooper. "But-but-it's only April," spluttered Mr. Cooper. "So? Well, you can come over and mow my lawn sometime, then" said the boss.

When Peter Cooper returned to his home that afternoon, he received the second major shock of the day. He had been tempted to look up some of the gang, but he decided not to-after all, they might not really appreciate what his father had done, and secondly, he had learned to respect his father in a limited way. After all, next time, it might be him with a broken arm.

He was surprised to see both his parents waiting for him. They usu- ally didn't pay much attention to him. This was, however, a special occasion, as he soon found out.

"What do you mean?" he squealed. "I'm not going to wear those things!" "Yes, you are," said his father ominously. "In fact, if you don't start in five seconds, I'm going to beat the living hell out of you!" In the face of such undeniable logic, the boy turned to meet a fate worse than death.

33